Chapter 417 aroused public outrage.

Shen Wantang remained calm, her mother-in-law's reaction was within her expectations: "It's only natural. What parent doesn't think their children are good? She's already a good mother-in-law for apologizing to me on behalf of the princess. If she always speaks up for me and doesn't favor the princess, then there's a problem."

Du Juan hesitated and said, "Princess Consort, I feel that when the Princess Consort came in just now, her face was actually a bit cold. Could it be... that she originally wanted to teach the Princess Consort a lesson?"

Shen Wantang smiled faintly: "Dujuan, you have improved quite a bit now, and you can even see through people's hearts. Not bad."

Du Juan was praised, but she wasn't very happy. She was somewhat indignant: "Ah? So I guessed right, Your Highness really wants to teach the Crown Princess a lesson? But what happened last night was not your fault at all! Even if Your Highness wanted to teach a lesson, you should have taught the Princess a lesson."

The smile on Shen Wantang's face gradually disappeared, and she sighed softly, "I suppose this is what makes being a daughter-in-law so difficult!"

However, despite her sighs, she didn't take it to heart. If her mother-in-law treated her well, she would naturally be considerate and filial. If her mother-in-law treated her so-so, she would just go through the motions.

Since she was ill, she could rest for a few days and didn't even need to go to pay her respects to her parents in the morning and evening.

For three days in a row, Shen Wantang lived a very leisurely life, eating all kinds of delicious food every day. When the sun was shining, he would read books and practice calligraphy. When the sun was not shining, he would drink tea and listen to the various unbelievable gossips brought by Qin Xin. The days passed by quickly.

However, things weren't going so well for Xiao Qingxi. Firstly, she was weak from nearly miscarrying and was required by Physician Zhou to rest in bed. Given her active nature, asking her to rest in bed was practically the death of her.

Secondly, the news that she overturned Shen Wantang and Gu Qianning's pleasure boat and pushed Lin Rouxin into the river, causing Lin Rouxin to disappear, has already spread throughout the capital.

Arrogant and domineering, she treated human life like dirt, yet because her surname was Xiao and she was a princess, she escaped any punishment.

This incident caused an uproar, and Xiao Qingxi's reputation for being ruthless far surpassed that of Xiao Qingyuan, the great traitor.

"Your Highness, people outside are all cursing the Princess. Miss Lin has been missing for so many days, and everyone thinks she must have been killed by the Princess. They are all indignant on her behalf!"

"Almost all the men of the Lin family died on the battlefield. Among the direct descendants, only Miss Lin was left, but she was killed by the princess. Now, who doesn't say that Miss Lin's life was tragic and miserable!"

“There was an aunt in Miss Lin’s clan who went to the yamen to beat the grievance drum while heavily pregnant. She said she wanted to get an explanation for her niece. She cried so bitterly and sorrowfully that she had been crying for three days. Today, she fainted in the yamen, which startled Lord Song. He was so frightened that he quickly called a doctor.”

"There are storytellers who have turned Miss Lin's story into a tale, which they tell every day in teahouses and taverns. Men, women, and children all love to listen, and the shows are always packed. After listening, they are all filled with righteous indignation and curse the princess as inhuman."

"I think the princess has probably stirred up public anger this time. The prince and princess are so worried that they can't eat or sleep, and their hair has turned white!"

"Oh, by the way, I heard that the Empress is also very dissatisfied with the Princess and has gone to the Emperor to demand an explanation. It's because Miss Gu was knocked into the water by the Princess and caught a cold with a persistent high fever. The imperial physicians all say it's very dangerous!"

"The Empress Dowager wants to protect the princess, but the Emperor says that the princess has indeed gone too far this time. If Miss Lin cannot be found, he will punish the princess!"

While eating her snacks, Shen Wantang listened with great interest: "Qinxin, where did you hear all this news? How do you know about things happening in the palace? Do you perhaps have an inside agent in your palace?"

Qin Xin's smile was bright and confident: "I am, after all, from the palace. Of course, I have some good sisters there. When I was working in the palace, I was diligent, sweet-talking, and clever. None of the nannies or maids disliked me!"

"Moreover, I have Moji as a great helper. He knows almost all the eunuchs in the palace. If there is any disturbance in the palace, Moji is always the first to know. If he knows, then I will naturally know too!"

"Princess Consort, rest assured, the information I've gathered is absolutely firsthand and reliable! Just wait and see, the Princess will definitely be punished by the Emperor this time!"

Shen Wantang looked at the maid who exuded the confidence of a gossip queen and couldn't help but laugh: "Dujuan, reward her! Our Qinxin is so amazing, this time give her a big reward, bring some gold ingots!"

Du Juan presented a gold ingot to Qin Xin, teasing her, "You're just like me, with two eyes, two ears, and one mouth, yet you seem to have eyes that can see a thousand miles and ears that can hear the wind, and there's no secret you don't know! I'm envious of the reward you've received."

Qin Xin happily took the gold ingot: "This servant thanks the Princess Consort for the reward!"

She tucked the heavy gold ingots into her bosom and said to Dujuan, "I earned this reward through my own abilities. Others may think I'm using unorthodox methods, but only the Crown Princess is my discerning patron, recognizing my exceptional talent!"

Du Juan smiled and shook her head: "Alright, Qianlima, you go and continue to gather information. Qiyu Shuxiang and I are enough here."

Qin Xin couldn't help but look at Shen Wantang. Seeing Shen Wantang nod, she ran out in a flash.

"Princess Consort, is Miss Gu really very ill?"

As Du Juan poured tea for Shen Wantang, she asked, "Would you like to go see her and take her pulse? Should I prepare some silver needles?"

Shen Wantang chuckled: "Didn't A Ning write me a letter? She had the same fever as me, but recovered quickly. She's just pretending to be sick to get back at the princess for capsizing our pleasure boat!"

"Then we don't need to go see her?"

“I still have to go. Ah Ning has told everyone that she is very ill. I am close to her, so it wouldn’t be right not to go and see her.”

"But right now, the relationship between our Prince's Mansion and the Duke's Mansion is very strained. The Duke's Mansion and the Empress are even complaining to the Emperor about the Princess. If you go to visit Miss Gu, won't the Prince and Princess be unhappy?"

Shen Wantang said calmly, "Don't rush. Anyway, A-Ning isn't really sick and waiting for me to save her life. I don't need to offer to visit her myself. Everyone in the manor knows that I have a good relationship with her. My father and mother want me to go, they'd love for me to!"

It took Du Juan a moment to realize that the prince and princess probably wanted the crown princess to plead with Miss Gu on behalf of the princess!

Sure enough, someone came to Wutong Garden the next day to "give guidance" to Shen Wantang.

Moreover, the person who came was neither Prince Ning nor Princess Ning, but Xiao Qingyuan.